This invention relates generally to safety apparatus and more particularly to rescue apparatus for bee attacks.
While bees have proven to be of extreme importance within the agricultural industry, they have not always been viewed as "friendly". Even the relatively benign "European" bee is known to swarm and to attack without any obvious provocation.
This danger of bee attacks has only escalated as "Africanized" bees have migrated into the United States and have interacted with the "European" bees. The "Africanized" bees, while no more venomous than the "European" are known to attack with less provocation and to attack in heretofore unforeseen numbers. The assault by the "Africanized" bees is so intense and devoted, that its victims are often simply overwhelmed.
These attacks have become more common and include not only adults and children, but animals such as dogs and horses as well. In one attack on a horse, the animal was stung more than a thousand times before it died.
The attacks from the "Africanized" bees is so intense that any rescuer is put at a significant disadvantage. The rescuer, should they get too close to the victim, is likely to become a victim as well.
To combat bee attacks, fire departments have a soapy foam which they spray onto the hive. The soapy foam embeds the bees so that they are unable to fly or swarm. This removes the bees' threat.
Unfortunately, in almost all cases, by the time the fire department is able to respond to a bee attack, the victim is either extremely incapacitated or dead. The delay that it takes the fire department is more than sufficient for the bee attack to obtain its result.
It is clear from the foregoing that there is a need for an improved rescue apparatus suited for bee attacks.